Pokémon Nuzlocke Heartgold: The Ballad of Tori
by TheGentlemanlyRake
Summary: Follow the adventures of Tori Shepard, a geeky teen who is dragged into becoming a Pokémon Trainer after being forced to help out Professor Elm, and watch as she goes through good times and bad times as she strives to become the Champion. NOTE: Additional .5 chapters may contain some mature content. Not necessary to read.
1. Chapter 1: A New Adventure

Chapter 1: A New Adventure

It was a brisk November morning in New Bark Town, and life seemed quite peachy. If one listened closely, they could hear the cries of the humble Pidgeys as they went on about their day. On the roof of the two-story house in the northeast corner of town, two of the Tiny Bird Pokémon were perched and discussing the notable themes of The Divine Comedy. Of course, the only thing that the nearby humans heard of this intellectual conversation was, "Pidgey. PidgeyPidgey!" as most humans are unable to understand what Pokémon are saying.

However, their discussion met an abrupt end when a loud, annoyed groan was heard, prompting the two Pokémon to flee from the scariest sound that they had heard in their lives.

"Ugh, mom. Do I have to?" as the source of the noise pulled her blanket back over her head, in protest of her mom waking her up. It was only 8:30 in the morning, and she had decided to stay up until 2:30am the night before. She didn't care much for being awoken out of a sound sleep either.

"Yes you do, Tori. You're 18 years old, and I'd like it if you weren't either sitting at your computer or sleeping all day. Besides, Professor Elm said that you would get 'something great' if you helped him."

"But mom, I like doing that stuff. It's fun. And I'm sure Professor Elm has assistants that could play courier instead." Tori retorted.

"Fine, enjoy your electronics and sleep in until 2, when you could be getting fresh air outside." As Ms. Shepard walked out of her daughter's room, she remembered one last thing. "Oh, by the way, Phoebe came by looking for you. She said that she wanted to tell you something."

Tori quickly sat up straight in her bed just as her mom closed the door. She wondered what her usually timid and shy girlfriend would have wanted to tell her if she was able to pluck up the courage necessary to come see Tori, even though Phoebe only had talked to her mother. Not wanting to keep her waiting, Tori finally got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up. She quietly entered the bathroom, locked the door, and proceeded to turn on the faucet to her ideal temperature. Seeing how it took a few minutes for the ice-cold water to heat up, Tori had some time to check herself out.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Tori looked like the epitome of a teenage shut-in. Her long, dark pink hair was utterly frazzled, and her half-asleep eyelids nearly concealed her magenta irises, the fact that her glasses looked like they had been in a dust storm didn't help either. Deciding to clean her specs for the first time in weeks, she decided to simply run the lenses over the sink faucet, disregarding the spray bottle of lens solution in the medicine cabinet, as usual. After rinsing them for about 30 seconds, Tori shut off the sink and dried her lenses with the t-shirt she was wearing, then proceeded to put her glasses back on her face. The fact that her glasses were crystal clear stunned her for a moment, but she quickly came to her senses, and decided to look herself over some more. She wasn't a girl who was overly concerned about her appearance, but figured that it was nice to give herself a once over every now and then.

Looking at herself, she knew that despite constantly downplaying her looks, she was a pretty girl. Of course, she didn't possess the natural beauty or grace as her timid girlfriend did, but she didn't care; she was fine with how she looked. Only wearing a t-shirt with a simple Pokéball design and a pair of lavender boy shorts as her sleepwear, she stared intently at herself, and she began to subtly trace her figure through her clothing, closing her eyes and imagining Phoebe for a moment. She quickly snapped out of her stupor, and blushed a bit; however, she quickly admonished herself:

_Now now Tori, it isn't the time for that. _

After another minute of checking herself out, Tori saw that her glasses and the mirror were starting to become fogged. She realized that the water had finally heated up, and quickly removed her shirt and underwear before throwing them on the floor, and got in the shower.

Twenty-five minutes later, Tori was in her bathrobe and drying off, and felt ready to tackle the day. After brushing her hair, she went back to her bedroom to get dressed. After locking the door to prevent somebody from walking in on her, Tori took off her robe, grabbed some undergarments and quickly put them on. It took her about a minute to get her bra clasped, but she eventually got it, and made sure that she had it on properly. Afterward, she went to her closet to find a good set of clothes. Her wardrobe mainly consisted of t-shirts, pants, some dress clothes and a couple dresses. She didn't mind that she wasn't very girly in her choices of clothing; like most girls her age, she just wore clothes that were comfortable.

After looking around for a minute, she decided on a pair of gray jeans, and a pair of purple and gray sneakers, socks, and finally, her favorite t-shirt: a light purple souvenir shirt from the Indigo Plateau, which had a small print of the Indigo League logo on the left side of the chest, and a large print of a Dragonite, the Champion's main Pokémon, and her favorite as well; on the back.

After finishing up with getting dressed, she grabbed a hairband and styled her long hair into a ponytail. She then quickly ran to the stairs, but was stopped by her mother's voice.

"Are you wearing a sweatshirt?" Tori sighed, then replied,

"Mom, it isn't that cold out."

"Tori Rebecca, it's 48 degrees out, it's cold." Her mom snapped back. Tori slightly cringed at the sound of her mom using her middle name, and then realized that she wouldn't be able to win. She went back into her room and grabbed a black zip-up hoodie off of her desk chair. Having appeased her mother, Tori was finally able to come downstairs. She saw her mom in the kitchen, and saw a box sitting on the table. She assumed that it wasn't important, and her mom called her over.

"Tori, I hope you have a great day, okay? I know these past couple months have been have been hard for you, with what happened, but you have to move on. You have an amazing gift as a trainer, and not many people can talk to Pokémon. You had no way of knowing that would have happened, and you have to accept that it's not your fault. And know that no matter what, I will always love you."

Tori mournfully lowered her head; she hated being reminded that her attempt at trying to catch the Pidgey that would have been her starter Pokémon resulted in the Pidgey accidentally dying instead of fainting. But the fact that her mom still cared for her almost caused her to cry. She felt a few tears roll down her cheeks, but she quickly caught herself before she made a scene. Taking a deep breath, Tori hugged her mom, and went to the door to go outside. Again, her mother stopped her.

"Tori, you did wonder what's in this box, right?"

"Umm… No. I thought it was just a box." Tori replied. Her mom smiled, and then motioned to her daughter to open it.

Tori went back to the table, and opened the box; she couldn't believe her eyes. In the box was a brand new bag. It was entirely purple, save for a black hem and a red Pokéball design on the front. She looked inside, and saw that it was already packed with some food and a journal.

"Consider it an early Christmas present. Note that I packed that food in there for a reason. Please remember to eat." Tori couldn't help but blush out of embarrassment. She couldn't help if she was too occupied with what she was doing that she'd forget to eat.

"Now go and see Phoebe, okay? Just remember to see Professor Elm when you can."

Tori hugged her mom again, slung her bag over her shoulder, and went out the door. Little did she know, a grand adventure was awaiting her.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Songs, Happiness, and Love

Pokémon Heartgold Nuzlocke Chapter 2: Of Songs, Happiness, and Love

Having been staying completely indoors for a few days now, Tori was temporarily blinded by the sunlight outside. Shielding her eyes, Tori kept on walking, but still had a hard time seeing where she was going. Suddenly, a short, stumpy creature seemingly appeared out of nowhere, causing Tori to trip and fall flat on her face on the hard dirt road.

"Ow…" Tori said as she stood back up, she could hear the Pokémon quickly scamper off. Sighing, Tori took off her glasses to make sure nothing bad happened to them. As she mumbled angrily to herself that the lenses finally darkened just after she needed it to most, she noticed that the right temple of her frame was slightly bent near the hinge, however Tori straightened it as best as she could. As hard as she tried to suppress her frustration over her now-slightly crooked glasses, she didn't have the ability to.

"Whichever of you little scumbags thought it was funny to trip me, you're dead meat!" Tori said through her teeth as she put her glasses back on. "I will grab you by your sorry little ass, and throw you… into the…" Tori awkwardly stopped her tirade as she saw an obviously frightened Bulbasaur cowering behind a patch of grass on the side of the road. She knew of only one Bulbasaur, that being Phoebe's. Tori quietly reprimanded herself, knowing that despite Phoebe having her for ten years, she was still a child, and nearly as timid as her owner was, who was nowhere in sight.

"Oh… hi, Bella." Tori slowly walked toward the scared Bulbasaur. "I didn't really mean that stuff. I'm so sorry." Bella looked up with tears in her eyes.

"No, I'm sorry. I made you trip, and now you're *hic* goanna throw me somewhere. Please don't…" Bella was frozen out of fear.

Tori heard every word Bella had said, and prided herself for a second on her ability to understand Pokémon. Quickly bending down to pick up Bella, Tori wasn't surprised that the Bulbasaur didn't try to fight back as she scooped the little Pokémon up and sat down in the grass still hugging Bella, who started to cry into Tori's chest.

"Bella, you know me, I would never hurt you. Phoebe would never forgive me. And I'm sorry for yelling, it was an accident and I should know better." Bella slightly nodded, knowing that she could trust the girl who was almost like a second mother to her, but the floodgates didn't let up. Tori knew that it was never easy to make Bella stop crying, and only Phoebe was able to calm her down quickly. After a minute of thinking and feeling her t-shirt starting to get soaked, Tori remembered a song that her dad would sing to her under the same circumstances when she was young, and after taking a moment to recall the words, gently stroked Bella's head as she began.

_Hush now, my child. Be calm now, don't cry._

_Know that all will be okay._

_You may feel bad, but you'll never stay sad._

_For with the dark, comes the new day._

_So remember this song, whenever you're down._

_For the words that I've told you are true._

_Things happen for a reason, no matter the season._

_And deep down in my heart, I'll always love you._

_Deep down in my heart, I'll always love you._

As Tori finished the last line, she looked up to the sky as her own cheeks became moist with tears, and she heard Bella calm down. The Bulbasaur quickly smiled and extended the vines from under her bulb to hug Tori.

"Thank you, Tori. That song was beautiful. I'm so glad to have you as a friend." Bella said as Tori smiled, quickly wiping her own tears away while Bella hugged her again. She looked up to the sky again.

_Thank you, dad… _

Tori looked back down at Bella, who jumped off her lap as Tori heard another voice, this time coming from a girl with short pink hair, glasses, a yellow shirt, and denim jeans, who was running as quick as she could toward the Bulbasaur. Tori immediately stood up, recognizing the girl as Phoebe.

"There you are, Bella. Oh my goodness, I looked everywhere for you." Bella ran toward Phoebe in response and jumped into her arms. "I was so worried, don't go running off like that again, okay?" Phoebe hugged the Bulbasaur as it said its name in response, which Tori heard as, "Okay, Phoebe. I'm sorry." Tori smiled at the sweet reunion, and then decided to clear her throat to get her girlfriend's attention. The pink-haired girl jumped a bit before realizing whom it was.

"Oh, Tori, I didn't see you there." the shy girl said before setting Bella on the ground, then ran to Tori and hugged her. Tori responded with a kiss. Both girls giggled a bit, and Phoebe kissed Tori back, before breaking the embrace to make sure Bella hadn't run off again, which Bella didn't; Phoebe looked at her watch seeing that it was 9:45, then faced Tori again.

"So, um… I had something I wanted to tell you, but I was kind of expecting you to drop by my house, and I had everything all ready, but then Bella ran off, and now you're here, and… " Before Phoebe could continue, Tori placed her hand on Phoebe's arm, and Phoebe fell silent.

"Shh, it's fine, Phoebe. I was just on my way to see you when I found Bella hiding in the grass. I think she ran off to see if I was coming. Anyways, let's go, I can't wait to find out what you want to tell me, actually." Tori stated, as Phoebe lightly blushed.

"But don't you have to go meet Professor Elm about something? That's what your mom told Me." replied Phoebe.

"You're my girlfriend, Phoebs. You come first on my list." Tori pecked Phoebe on the cheek, and then interlocked her hand with hers, and the two girls proceeded to walk down the path to Phoebe's house, as Bella walked behind the pair.

After a nice five minute walk, Tori and Phoebe made it back to the latter's house, and Phoebe quickly went to the kitchen with Bella following closely as Tori sat herself down in the living room, then got back up take off her sweatshirt and hang it in the closet.

"So your parents are out of town again?" Tori asked, noticing that the nineteen-year-olds house was quiet, and seeing that Phoebe's stepdad is a well-known novelist, and her mom is a film score composer, and the fact that they've been touring around the Kanto-Johto region together since Phoebe turned eighteen, the answer seemed quite clear. A couple seconds later, Phoebe came out with a tray of tea and what looked like freshly baked cookies.

"Uh-huh. Frank is giving a radio interview in Goldenrod City, and then they're taking a month-long second honeymoon in the Kalos region. I do wish that they would just stay home for a while." Phoebe said sadly, but decided to perk herself back up. "So how's your mom doing, Tori?"

"She's doing fine." Tori stated while pouring herself a cup of tea. "So Phoebe, what is it you want to tell me?" Tori asked inquisitively.

"Oh, right. Well, you know that I applied to the Pokémon Medical School in Cherrygrove City, right?" Phoebe said, grabbing an unopened envelope with the school's seal on the front off of the counter. Tori gasped and quickly stood up, motioning her girlfriend to open it, as she herself stood next to Phoebe.

Phoebe quickly tore the envelope open and held the paper that would determine her future in her hand with Tori watching. The first word Phoebe saw was "Congratulations," and Tori saw "accepted." Both knew what that meant, and both girls screamed and squealed at each other in excitement, jumping up and down, and hugged each other so tightly, both thought their own ribs would break. But neither cared, especially Tori.

_At least Phoebe's dream came true. I knew she would._

Five minutes later, Tori and Phoebe calmed down enough to sit down on the couch and just cuddle together. Both kept giggling and smiling, but Tori was enjoying it the most. She gently pecked Phoebe's forehead, and Phoebe returned it with a peck to Tori's neck, acting a bit friskier than usual. Both lovers sighed, and looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Tori."

"I love you too, Phoebe"

As the lovebirds leaned closer to each other's faces, a loud snore from a sleeping Bella broke them out of their stupor and jump away from each other. Phoebe giggled as Tori stared daggers at the Bulbasaur, who was still asleep as she started to lightly snore. But Tori couldn't stay mad at the little Pokémon, jokingly thinking,

_Phoebe should have named you "C-Block," you little bugger._

Tori's thoughts were interrupted when Phoebe whispered in her ear, "Come on, Tori. My bedroom might be a bit more comfortable." Tori blushed a bit, but knew that Phoebe meant that literally. Smiling as Phoebe went to fill Bella's food dish, Tori went to the Bulbasaur and kissed her forehead, then whispered, "Don't have any bad dreams, okay?" before following Phoebe upstairs to her bedroom.

As both walked into Phoebe's bedroom, Tori took in the familiar sight of the place where both girls would often spend time with each other ever since they first became friends in elementary school. Along with Tori's own bedroom, it had been the place where laughs were had, secrets were told, and where tears had been shed. As Tori got into her girlfriend's queen-size bed, Phoebe set her own glasses on the nightstand, offering to take Tori's as well, which she complied. Phoebe then slid under the covers with Tori, before saying something that Tori didn't expect.

"Now where were we?" said Phoebe, before swiftly planting her lips on Tori's lips. The sudden shock made Tori's eyes open wide, before she swiftly kissed Phoebe back, retaliating by invading Phoebe's mouth with her tongue. Phoebe's tongue then fought against Tori's tongue, as the two lovers passionately made out. Tongue met tongue, and hands were exploring a new body, save for some places that were "out of bounds" for both. However, both lovely ladies were having the times of their lives; and knowing that they deserved each other, both quickly fell asleep in each other's arms, knowing that their love was now stronger than ever.


End file.
